Box or receptacle for holding small articles



W. D. LA RUE BOX 0R RECEPTAGLE FOR HOLDING SMALL ARTICLES March 6, 1928.

Filed July 11. 1921 INVENTOR Q Milka/72 D, Zafiue,

WITNESS f7 TTURNEVS Patented Mar. 6, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. LA RUE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A SSIGNOR TO. VICTOR TALKING MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. i

BOX 0R RECEPTACLE FOR HOLDING SMALL ARTICLES.

Application filed July 11,

My invention relates to boxes which are adapted to hold relatively small articles such as styli or needles for talking machines, and more particularly to such boxes as are provided with various compartments in certain of which may be stored orcontained needles or styli suitable for use in the talking machine and in certain other of which may be dropped and stored styli which are worn or for any reason are unsuitable for use in the machine.

The objects of my invention are to provide a box of the character above referred to, in which usable or unused styli may be stored in one or more readily accessible compartments, preferably adjacent the front edge of the box, and the used, worn or discarded styli may be stored in a separate and distinctive compartment at the rear thereof; to provide a box from which the accumulation of worn or discarded styli may be emptied from time to time without discharging or spilling out the new or usable styli or needles from their compartment or compartments, by merely inverting the box as a whole; and to provide a simple structure which, when not in use, will not be unsightly, but on the contrary willpresenta pleasing and ornamental appearance.

A further object of my invention is to provide a box in which the tray containing one or more compartments for-needles or styli or other small articles is tightly retained in position merely by the friction between the end walls of the tray and the sides of the box, so that when it is necessary or desir able to remove the tray, it may be readily pulled bodily out of the box withoutdisturbing the contents of the tray and without being obliged to first remove any tray fastening or retaining-means.

A further object of my invention is to pro vide a box with a hinged or pivoted member adaptedto be swung at will to lie over and to cover the section or compartment containing used or Worn needles, or over the compartment or compartments containing the unused or usable styli or needles.

Other objects of my invention will appear in the specification and claims below.

In the, drawing forming a part of this specification and in which the same reference characters are used throughout the various views to designate the same parts, Fig. 1

1921. Serial No. 483,723.

18 3, perspective view of my improved box with the hinged or swinging member lying over the compartment adapted to contain.

Flg. 4 is a transverse vertical section 7 taken on the line t4l in Fig. F 1g. 5 is a Vertical cross sectional view similar toFig. 3 but showing the cover in open position and the hinged or swinging member lying over and covering the tray and the compartments therein.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the rear corner of the box .and the free edge of the swinging member slightly elevated above it, showing the projeetionson the rear edge of the swinging member forming stops and adapted to rest on the top edges of the box,

and alsoshowing a portion of the swinging member adapted to close an opening in the rear wall of the box where it is cut away for the purpose of forming a hinge for the cover. 7

y In carrying out my invention I provide a box 1 preferably stamped or pressed out of sheet metal and having preferably a square or rectangular opening in the top thereof and having a pair of opposite side walls 2, 3 which are parallel at the top or opening into the box and are disposed perpendicular to the plane of the top of the box. The front and the rear walls a and 5frespectively, may

be and preferably are also parallel to'each other at and around the top of the box, and are similarly preferably disposed inpplanes perpendicular to the opening of the box, but below the said perpendicular portions of the said walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 they may be and preferably are flared outwardlyand then reversely curved inwardly or into any desirable pleasing or attractive ornamental shape.

The top of the rear wall is preferably cut away to provide portions 66 of the hinge 6. A cover 7 is also preferably provided along one edge thereof with a projection 6",

which also forms a part of the hinge 6, said portions or projection 6, 6, 6" being bent or wrapped around the pintle 8 to form the hinge 6 by means of which the cover 7 is pivoted to one edge of the box 1.

Within the box is fitted a tray 9 located preferably adjacent the front wall 4 of the box. This tray is of such a length that when it is inserted into the box 1 its ends press tightly against the opposite perpendicular parallel portions of the side walls 2, 3 of the box 1, and when the tray 9 is forced into the box it will be retained permanently in position by reason of the friction between the side walls 2, 3 of the box and the ends of the tray 9.

In width this tray is preferably one-half of the width of the top of the box. The rear wall 10 of the tray therefore divides the box as a whole into two sections, namely, a section forming arear compartment 11 within the box and a front section provided by the tray 9 of the box. This tray 9 may be divided into two or more compartinents 12, 12 as will be again referred to be- The height ofthe tray 9 is preferably equal to the depth of the interior of the box 1,so that when the tray 9 is inserted into the box it rests upon the bottom 13 of the box and its top edges are substantially fiush with the top edges of the box.

Portions 14, 14 of the top edge of the rear wall 10 of the tray 9 are preferably rounded over and around pintle 15 to form one part of the hinge l l, and to this hinge 14 is secured a hinged or swinging member 16, the same being substantially of the same size and shape as the top of the tray, and since the top of the tray is of the same size and shape as the top of the rear compartment 11, the said swinging member 16 will be of the same size as the top of the rear compartment 11. This hinged or swinging member 16 is also provided with a projecting portion 1 1" which is also bent or wrapped around the pintle 15 to form a part or portion of the hinge 14. i The hinged or swinging member 16 is thus adapted to be swung into two positions. When it is swung rearwardly it will cover and close the rear compartment, 11 of the box, and when it is swung forwardly it will lie over and close the entiretop of the tray and the compartments 12 therein.

The hinged or swinging member 16 is preferably provided at its free edge with a right-angled flange 17 of a size adapted to lie over and close that portion of the rear wall 5 of the box which is cut away to form the hinge 6 when said swinging member 16 lies over and covers the rear compartment 11. The free edge of the swinging member 16 is also provided with two small projections 18 at the opposite Thus, soft tone needles may one compartment 12 and full tone styli ends thereof, adapted to rest on the top edges of the box when the said swinging member 16 is placed in either its forward or rear position. These projections 18 form stops which prevent the swinging member 16 from dropping below the plane of the top edges of the box.

The swinging member 16 is also preferably provided with a narrow elongated hole or opening 19 through which the worn, used or discarded needles may be dropped into the rear compartment.

To assist in positioning the tray 9 within the box 1 a linger or lug 20 may be struck upwardly from the bottom 13 ofthe box and against this finger 2O rests or bears the rear wall 10 of the tray 9. The tray may be provided with one or more vertical partitions 21 to divide the tray into as many compartments 12 as may be found to be desirable. Since the tray 9 is preferably adapted to contain the new, unworn, or usable needles or styli, different kinds of needles or styli may be stored or lie t therein.

may be kept in a different separate compartment 12 in the tray 9.

The bottom of the tray 9 is preferably concavely curved upwardly toward the front edge thereof so that the styli contained therein may be readily abstracted therefrom by means of the thumb and finger.

When using the device, the swinging member 16 is normally placed into the position shown in Fig. 1 over the rear compartment 11 of the box, leaving the compartments 12, 12 in the tray open with the needles contained therein accessible for use.

lVhen the accumulation of worn or discaded styli in the rear compartment is so greatthat it is desired to remove them from the box, it is only necessary to swing the hinged or swinging member 16 forwardly on its hinge 14 until it lies over and closes the compartments 12, 12 in the tray. The thumb is then preferably placed over the hole 19 in the said swinging member 16, the box as a whole is then inverted and the contents of the rear compartment may be thus emptied therefrom, but during this inversion of the box the styli in the tray 9 will be retained in their respective compartments 12 by the swinging member 16. The inverted position of the box and the way in which it is held when emptying styli from the rear compartment is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2.

In order that the swinging member 16 may lie in a plane substantially flush with the top of the box when it is swung to its rear position over the compartment 11, the rear wall 5 of the box may be provided with slight recesses 22 upon which the steps or projections 18 rest. When the swinging e kept in member 16 is swung to a forward position the said projections 18 rest on the front edge of the tray 9.

The free edge of the swinging member 16 is also preferably provided with a projection 23, preferably a little wider than the projections or stops 18 and preferably also disposed in the plane of the major portion of the swinging member 16 and preferably located at or about the middle thereof, to provide a finger hold which may be caught under the finger nail to facilitate the lifting of the swinging member 16 from either of its positions, over the rear compartment 11 or over the tray compartments 12.

If for any reason it is desirable to remove the tray 9 it may be pulled directly out of the box without being obliged to first remove any fastening'or securing means therefor. The tray is of a size" to fit snugly and tightly within the box. It is so securely held there that no other means than the frictional engagement between the ends of the tray and the side walls of the box is necessary to firmly hold it permanently within the box. The finger or lug 20 is primarily a positioning means to assist in uniformly locating the tray 9 within the box and to prevent the tray from being moved away from the side of the box, but it may assist or contribute in frictionally retaining the tray within the box by reason of the frictional engagement between the rear wall 10 of the tray and the lug or 3 projection 20.

The bottom of the box may be provided with projections 24 forming legs, preferably stamped or pressed outwardly from the material forming the bottom of the box.

Vihile I have shown and described only one embodiment of my invention in which the box is substantially rectangular and the compartment for worn and discarded styli is at the rear thereof adjacent the hinged cover, it is to be understood that the mouth or opening into the box or container may be of any suitable shape and that the tray may be positioned adjacent one of the sides of the box.

The tray may be made as one entire compartment or it may be sub-divided into any convenient number of compartments adapted to contain a number of different kinds of unused needles but in any case the size and shape of the top of the tray should be the same as that of the other or discarded needle compartment, or the rear wall 10 of the tray 9 should divide the entire month or opening into the box into two equal similarly shaped parts so that when the swinging member 16' is swung to either of its positions it will completely close, except as to the hole 19 therein, either half of the box,

that is to say, it will close either the compartment or section 11 or the entire top of the tray.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A container for small articles comprising abox, a removable tray retained within said box by the friction between the ends thereof and the walls of said box, means,

to definitely position said tray within said box and to assist in holding it from sliding within said box, a wall of said tray dividing the opening into said box into two equal parts, and a swinging member hinged to the top edge of said wall of said tray and adapted to be swung to cover either part of said opening.

2. A container for small articles comprising a box, one wall of which is cut away to provide a hinge, a tray within said box, a wall of said tray dividing the opening into said box into two parts, a swinging member hinged to the top edge of said wall of said tray and adapted to be swung at will to cover either part of said opening, said swinging member being provided with a flange adapted to fit over and close said cut-away portion of said wall.

8. A container for small articles comprising a box one wall of which is cut away to provide a hinge, a tray within said box, a wall of said tray dividing the opening into said box into two equal parts, a swinging member hinged to the top edge of said WILLIAM D. LA RUE. 

